Merry Grissmas and a Happy Sara
by RoxasSerenity
Summary: Not very original title but I'm sure you can live with it. GSR and Cathwarrick, mainly because i can


Grissom hated parties. It was Christmas Eve and Brass had spent the entire shift trying to bribe him into going to the Christmas party. By the end he was tired of being turned down and threatened to still his radioactive piglet if he didn't show. Grissom had caved, leaving the lab without another word.

He now stood hidden in the corner, a beer in his hand, staring at the group dancing before him. He'd been stood there since he had arrived, leaving once to go to the bathroom. He stared down at the liquid within his bottle, wishing desperately that he were some place else. A quick glance left him in further disappointment. 9.30. He'd only been there an hour? _ Why do these things always drag?_

Then something –well, someone- caught his eye. His heart stopped and his jaw dropped. She stood by the door, her red dress floating just above her knees, brown hair hung in loose curls. _I think I'm going to have a heart attack._ He was so taken by her appearance that he didn't notice Brass sneak beside him.

"Close your mouth, you'll attract flies."

"Eh?"

Grissom had naturally spent most of the night as far from the dancing as possible, listening to Brass dribble on about something to a rather tipsy Greg. He'd not been listening then they spoke to him and failed to notice that they'd moved away. He'd spent his time watching her. Sara Sidle. He worked up the courage numerous times to ask her to dance but something always got in the way, either his head or someone else asking her first. What he didn't notice was that she had been watching him, as well as everyone else who knew him. She saw him begin to walk towards her, then suddenly turn around and disappear into the corner again. At one point she was about to walk over to him, then Nick pulled her away for another dance. Catherine however, had taken it upon herself to quite literally shove Grissom forward.

"Ask her."

"What?"

"Ask her to dance." Grissom looked confused. _Can she read minds or something?_ "Come on. I've seen you watching her, the entire team has." He looked at Catherine in deep thought. "What's stopping you?"

"I…" _time to fess up._ "I cant dance." Catherine nearly burst out laughing.

"Sure you can. Come on." She pulled his beer away with one hand, setting it down on the nearby table, grabbing his with the other and dragging him to the dance floor. She then spent the next three songs trying to get Grissom to 'loosen up' much to Sara, Warrick and Nick's amusement. Nick whispered something into Warrick's ear, who wondered over to the DJ and repeated Nick's words. The DJ nodded and the music changed.

And I'd give up forever to touch you Cause I know that you feel me somehow 

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now._

Catherine wondered over and placed her arms around Warrick's neck, Brass was dancing with Sofia, while Greg and Nick were both occupied by girls from the dayshift. Grissom remained glued to the floor, watching Sara as she approached. Grissom began to stutter.

"Would you like to…" Grissom was lost for words. _What am I doing? I've never asked someone to dance before. _He couldn't breathe. Sara was finding Grissom's attempt at communication amusing. Catherine gave Grissom a sharp kick in the back of his knee. Sara smiled and replied to Grissom's uneasiness.

"Sure." Placing one hand in hers and the other lightly on her hip, Grissom's legs were jelly and Sara could tell that he was nervous. Not only had been bullied into dancing by Catherine, he knew how Sara felt and was uneasy about being this close to her.

And all I can taste is this moment 

_And all I can breathe is your life_

_And sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

Sara purposely kept her distance until Warrick lightly pushed Grissom, pressing their chests lightly together, earning him two _very_ dirty looks. To Sara's surprise, Grissom didn't pull away. Without thinking, she rested her head on his shoulder, who could feel his face burning.

He felt weird. Being this close to Sara, he felt something he'd never felt before. Warmth maybe? Whatever it was, it felt right, being with Sara suddenly felt right. The song came to an end and Sara pulled away. They stared at each other longingly for a moment before Sara reached up, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Pulling away, Grissom was unsure about what to do. His head was screaming at him to kiss her, but the rest of his body wouldn't move. Sara looked slightly embarrassed, turning a light shade of pink. She pulled away completely, rushing out of the room. Everyone was watching Grissom, who still hadn't processed the kiss that he still felt on his cheek. Snapping to his senses, he chased after her. He was too late. Again.

The following shifts, to everyone's surprise, it was Sara who was avoiding Grissom. She picked up her slip without question, leaving before anyone could say or do anything. When the New Years Eve party rolled around, Grissom locked himself in his office, while Sara locked herself in Catherine's.

"Sara open the door." Catherine had been trying to break into her own office for the past half an hour. Ten minutes later, Sara eventually gave in, letting Catherine in before locking the door again. "Sara what's wrong? You've been avoiding everyone like the plague, even Nick."

Sara explained about her 'relationship' with Grissom and how every time they get comfortable with each other, she'd say something stupid and Grissom would avoid her again.

"I guess I'm just avoiding another heart break."

"Sara, Grissom spent the _entire_ Christmas party trying to ask you to dance. He even ran after you when you left. He downed god knows how many beers, staggered down the street singing 'Lonely' as loudly as possible and was driven home in a police car because he couldn't keep the noise down." Sara felt really bad. _Did he really do all that just because I left?_

Grissom was dragged yet again to the party, this time by Catherine. She did steal his piglet and refused to return it unless he showed up. There he was, hidden in the corner, hating Catherine for what she was putting him through. He watched the dancing peacefully, until Catherine gave him more reason to hate her when she dragged him the dance floor, refusing to let him leave until Nick and Warrick distracted her long enough for Grissom to disappear on to one of the balconies.

There she was, this time in a flowing black dress. She stood at one side so he stood at the other, watching the night sky.

"It's amazing how well you can see the stars from the country. No buildings, no lights, just the open sky." Grissom knew he was rambling, but it was the only thing he could think of, the only non-work related thing he could say. Sara acknowledged his attempt at starting a conversation.

"Yeah, I've been out there a few times. It's amazing." This was followed by an awkward silence, broken only when the DJ's voice broke out behind them.

"We have time for one more song before the countdown, so grab a partner whoe we slow things down." Sara was about to wonder back inside when Grissom blurted out…

"Would you like to dance?" Sara gigglied at the look on Grissom's face. "that wasn't how I planned to say that."

"it's okay, I'd love to." Grissom smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. They came together, Sara's hands on his shoulders, Grissom's hands on her hips, chests pressed lightly together. Sara could see that for the first time, Grissom was happy with the distance between them. She took a risk. She rested her head on his shoulder and was surprised when she felt Grissom pull her closer.

The world seemed to melt away. the feeling from the Christmas party had returned, and Grissom had finally figured out what it was. Home. He felt at home with Sara. The song finished and they pulled away, jus enough to see the others face. They smiled warmly at each other.

"I think I finally know what to do." Grissom's voice just pushed past a whisper.

"About what?"

"This." He slowly began to lean forward. His lips now millimeters away, Sara closed her eyes, his body warm against her own. The sound of chatting and footsteps caused them to jump apart. Grissom noticed as Sara shivered. Pulling his jacket off, he draped it over her shoulders, watching as she stuck her arms through the sleeves, as she eyed his dark blue, long sleeved shirt.

The group assembled on the next balcony, only Catherine aware of Grissom and Sara's absence. Scanning the area, she spotted them, fingers tangled together, Sara's head resting on Grissom's shoulder and decided to leave them alone.

"5…4…3…2…1" Everyone watched as the fireworks lit up the night sky. Grissom was too focused on Sara. He turned his body to face hers, pulling her into his arms. She instinctively cupped her hands around his neck.

Their lips came together. Sara gently pulled Grissom closer, relishing the faint mixture of beer and toothpaste that she could taste in his mouth. Other than the faint bang of fireworks, the air was silent, until Greg spoke up for the first time that night.

"Hey guys, check it out." They broke apart and looked over at the next balcony, expecting everyone to be looking at them. The group, however, was watching Catherine and Warrick, who were locked in a passionate kiss of their own. Sara's eyes wondered back to Grissom, who shrugged.

"It was bound to happen."

"it was." The side of Grissom's mouth curled upward and he leaned in, capturing Sara's lips once more.

As they kissed, Grissom couldn't help but thank for the great start to the New Year.

THE END


End file.
